John Scott was fighting mad but with nobody to scrap, the Buffalo Sabres thug used his tough talk instead.

Incensed at having been ejected from Saturday’s game during an animated third-period skirmish that involved multiple players, including Toronto defenceman Dion Phaneuf, Scott lashed out at the Maple Leafs captain.

“All of a sudden I’m not allowed to hit him anymore,” Scott said, according to Buffalo radio station WGR. “He’s Princess Phaneuf. It’s a joke.”

Scott was ejected along with Frazer McLaren of the Leafs at 5:34 of the third after a series of near scraps began when Phaneuf narrowly missed being levelled by Scott in the open ice.

Phaneuf said afterward that he slipped, but Scott was accosted by Leafs tough guys Colton Orr and McLaren after the play.

“I went for a hit, Phaneuf bailed,” Scott told reporters afterward. “I got dragged down from behind and get 14 minutes. So I think there was more of a precaution. They didn’t want anything to boil over. They just told me to leave the ice.”

Though Friday’s opening game of the home-and-home series was somewhat tame, tempers boiled over at times on Saturday as the teams renewed the hostility they shared in the pre-season. Leafs forward David Clarkson and Sabres captain Steve Ott engaged in a second-period scrap and there was plenty of chirping between both sides the rest of the game.

John Scott was fighting mad but with nobody to scrap, the Buffalo Sabres thug used his tough talk instead.

Incensed at having been ejected from Saturday’s game during an animated third-period skirmish that involved multiple players, including Toronto defenceman Dion Phaneuf, Scott lashed out at the Maple Leafs captain.

“All of a sudden I’m not allowed to hit him anymore,” Scott said, according to Buffalo radio station WGR. “He’s Princess Phaneuf. It’s a joke.”

Scott was ejected along with Frazer McLaren of the Leafs at 5:34 of the third after a series of near scraps began when Phaneuf narrowly missed being levelled by Scott in the open ice.

Phaneuf said afterward that he slipped, but Scott was accosted by Leafs tough guys Colton Orr and McLaren after the play.